Fleeting Words
by okitaco
Summary: He held her in his tight embrace, head resting on her shoulder. She gripped onto his kimono hoping to comfort him. "I hate you so much..." Sasuke whispered and Sakura couldn't help but smile. Historical AU. SasuSaku.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

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><p>Her tea cup clattered on the wooden table gently. Thoughts of running away from her faith captured her heart deeply as she kneeled on the pillow. Hidden behind a screen, she felt somewhat protected from curious eyes. Sakura stared at her hands resting on her lap. It was a poor attempt to calm down, she knew but it was the only thing she could do to keep her mind from wandering back to the topic.<p>

Her father insisted that she meet the man. She did not care about marriage. The girl only wished to return back into her library, reading beautiful literature she had collected as she grew up. Books gave her peace and clarity. Unlike other girls of her age, Sakura could not care less about finding a man to marry. At the tender age of seventeen, it was not something she enjoyed keeping in her mind.

Sakura sighed tiredly. Her father was a great, intelligent man but he did not mind pushing his own desires to her. To marry a man beneficial to their family was what Sakura had to do in order to completely satisfy him. In other words, the Head of her clan was not any different from all the other fathers in nobility. Sakura shook her head. It wasn't the right time for blaming her father.

Looking down, Sakura examined her attire. Her kimono was pink, blossom petals printed on the cloth in a gorgeous pattern. Her haori was white, the back had her clan symbol printed onto it. Sakura reached for her new fan, opening it and widening her eyes at the design. It had cherry blossoms decorating the paper which looked as if it was drawn on with expensive ink. Her hair was up, the large pin sticking out of the back and her bangs fell gracefully to the sides of her face.

She felt beautiful but she was not happy. Sakura had nothing against getting marriage. In fact, she also desired to get married one day and have children, but the idea of getting married at her age made her mad. Surely her father wasn't planning on making her marry an old man? Just the thought of it send shivers down her spine.

"Lady Sakura, our guest has arrived." It was a servant of the household. Sakura knew that their guest was just outside the sliding screens of the meeting room. She sucked in some air before letting it all out.

"Enter." She managed to call out without her voice shaken. Sakura heard the screens slide open slowly. She could feel another presence walking into the room. It seemed to be only one from the footsteps she heard. Luckily, there was a screen covering her because if there wasn't then the guest would have seen how nervous she was.

Sakura knew they could only see her silhouette and was glad. The man sat two meters away from her, kneeling down on the soft pillow. From what she could make out it was a young man but she was not entirely sure of it. A sense of relief ran through her despite being uncertain but Sakura didn't really care as long as she could return to feeling calm again.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." It was a deep but youthful voice. Sakura assumed he was around the same age as her. She almost snorted when she could almost feel the sarcasm in his tone. It seemed like she wasn't the only one dreading this day.

"It is an honor to meet you, Uchiha Sasuke-sama." She replied back, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. Even though she knew he couldn't see her, she felt as if any lies she would say would get figured out.

Her father had told her that he was the second and youngest child of the Head of the Uchiha clan. Sakura could not have cared less about who he was. She would not marry him no matter what. She refused to give away her freedom so easily.

"Haruno Sakura, are you planning on hiding behind that screen for the entire meeting?" Sasuke questioned, sounding smug. Did he think he had dominance over her just because he was a man? Her blood was beginning to boil.

"How rude you are, Sasuke-sama. Calling me without a proper suffix is surely not respectful. Do you wish to dishonor your family?" Sakura retorted calmly, putting her arm down to hold her fan. She was grinning behind the screen. The pink haired teen refused to lose to some random man. Sasuke did not seem to be insulted at all by her comment.

"I only believe it is not necessary." He said. Sakura felt her eye twitch in irritation. She had a feeling he was smirking at her proudly. The man was looking down on her that was what she could completely understand. The two could not see each other but they both knew that there was some type of tension between them.

The female fanned herself and kept quiet. She did not want to say anything else that would get him to insult her again. Uchiha Sasuke was a disrespectful man in her opinion. The room was silent and Sakura watched the bonsai tree on far left of the room.

Sasuke sighed softly on the other side. "Will you be hiding this entire time?" He asked once again but gentler. By instinct, Sakura thought that he was planning on something. Was he going to insult her again but directly to her face this time? Or was he going to laugh at her appearance? It made her curious in a way.

Though, the way he said she was 'hiding' made her feel a bit weak. Sakura could not deny it though since she was behind the screen, shielding her appearance and emotions from his eyes. It was true. She was hiding behind a screen but what exactly did she fear? There was not anything that she feared about the man in front of her.

Calmly, Sakura stood up.

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><p><strong>AN: So, a short prologue but I hope it was fine. :) I've been longing to write a SasuSaku fic for ages and have been lurking around the archive reading them for like a year. It's finally time I actually get off my lazy butt and write I think.**

**BETA: goldenflash100**

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><p><strong>REVIEWS ARE SEXY.<strong>

**LONG REVIEWS ARE SEXIER.**

**DO IT FOR KIMONO-WEARING SASUKE.**


	2. 1: To Fool

Chapter 1: To Fool

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><p>Emperor Meiji was someone Sakura looked up to. He managed to bring the isolated country and bring western ways into Japan. She had never met him before face to face but that didn't stop her from respecting the man. He basically changed Japan into a more open country. Sakura also noted just how the advancement in technology was taking place in the world. Things were happening so fast in both the country and her own life.<p>

Sakura turned to her side, picking up her tea cup to take a sip of green tea. She was sitting down on the ledge of the wooden walkway near the garden. Servants were taking care of the plants that her family had collected and grown over the years. The rosette loved to watch how the wind would blow the blossoms gently around the garden. Some of them landed in her pond, floating and dancing in the sparkling water.

A sigh left her soft lips. Tomorrow was the day she met him. She dreaded it completely. The Uchiha Clan was a renowned family that carried plenty of power in government. Plenty of girls wished to marry into that family because of their wealth and because of the rumored 'handsome heirs' that were born to the Uchiha. So, why was she the one chosen to meet their youngest child of all women?

Her parents were fully aware of the fact she did not want to get married at her age and yet they pushed her, saying things like 'you will never get a chance like this again' and 'the boy is handsome and you will surely love him'. Complete nonsense in her view. Sakura wanted to marry someone she truly loved. She was searching for someone who could make her heart beat like no one had ever done before. An arranged marriage was only for political benefit and Sakura really did not want to get married to some random man her parents thought was good for her.

The young female hoped for weeks that they would notice just how disinterested she was about the whole idea but it seemed like her parents were ignoring the signs altogether. Sakura frowned and took another sip of tea. What could she do now that the meeting was tomorrow? Run away? There was no place for her to run to. Maybe she could get the Uchiha side to break off the engagement? It was obvious that it would never be happening on her side.

"Uchiha Sasuke…." A whisper of his name left her pink lips.

Why did their family have to accept the Haruno clan's offer anyway? There were plenty of other girls that were born into a wealthy family. Sakura knew that there were other women more beautiful then she was across the lands. Why her of all people?

"I hope you have a dreadful day."

And she really did hope.

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><p>Sasuke sneezed.<p>

He rubbed his nose with the sleeve of kimono. Sasuke was not sick and he knew that. His parents had been very strict on him for the past month, telling him to look his healthiest and act his most proper in preparation for some marriage meeting. His father, Fugaku, was especially stern with him about the matter. His mother on the other hand seemed very excited about the meeting and wanted love to blossom quickly. Itachi only chuckled at the whole idea and left Sasuke with a flick on the forehead.

They told him that the person he was meeting was the only daughter of the Haruno clan. They were famous for their medical knowledge and influence throughout Tokyo. Sasuke had heard they had a daughter around his age but he never got the chance to meet her. Well, he never really cared about meeting the girl anyway.

The raven haired teen stared at the scroll in front of him before rolling it open to the side. Itachi had given it to him, telling him it was information about the Haruno clan and how he should at least know the basics. Sasuke envied Itachi greatly. His elder brother was a prodigy at everything he did and was going to be the next head of the Uchiha clan. What he could not understand was why Itachi was not getting married.

Sasuke did not dare to question his father though, he would have most definitely received some type of lecture from him. Anything would be better then that. He could have asked his mother, Mikoto instead but she looked much too happy about the whole matter of his future marriage, and Sasuke knew her mood would drop straight away if he mentioned he did not want to get married.

Shaking his head, Sasuke's dark eyes scanned the writing on the scroll. He was honestly surprised that the Haruno clan actually had high favor in the court. Now, he understood why his parents were so keen on being connected to the family by law. The Uchiha clan was probably interested in the medical research and information that the Harunos possessed. The Uchihas had both wealth and power in the court so it was a situation that benefited both clans.

If it was a political marriage maybe he could survive. Sasuke frowned at the thought. That meant he had to put up with some girl for the rest of his life and that made him cringe in disgust. According to Mikoto, her name was Haruno Sakura and she apparently was 'perfect' for him; Sasuke highly doubted that.

_Haruno Sakura_

Sasuke traced his fingers along the dry ink and the characters of her name. She was named after cherry blossoms. A scowl made it's way onto his face as he continued to stare at her name. If his parents' liking towards her grew even more then he would be engaged to her by the end of the week and that made him irritated.

"Sasuke-sama, Mikoto-sama has requested your presence." A servant informed him from behind the screen. From the silhouette it looked like he was kneeling behind it.

The teen stood up and made his way to the doors. With a slow push, Sasuke slid the screens open and stepped into the hallway. Just what did that woman want now? He loved her and everything, but he would be lying if sometimes she did annoy him. Mikoto was only acting like this nowadays because of the marriage meeting.

When Sasuke reached the sitting room, he announced his presence and waited until he heard his mother's voice to call him in. He bowed his head towards the black haired woman before making his way to sit in front of her.

"Sasuke, I have a new kimono for you to wear for the meeting tomorrow!" Mikoto cheerfully said before a servant came from the other side of the room to place a white box in front of him. Sasuke stared at it before pulling off the ribbon and removing the cover.

It was a plain dark blue kimono with a red pattern that decorated the corners of the cloth. The haori was white and had his clan symbol printed on the back. It was new and it obviously looked expensive. As if his mother knew what he was thinking she smiled at him and said, "Sakura-chan will like you even better if you dress up. The price is nothing compared to the happiness of the engagement."

Sasuke widened his eyes. She was already convinced that he was going to marry the Haruno girl. Despite his wanting to correct her, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to do it. Mikoto was radiating cheerfulness and excitement over a little meeting that was _only _a meeting. Sasuke knew if he said something now then the woman's mood would go completely down.

The raven haired teen sucked in some air. He'll just have to pull through somehow.

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><p>Her name fit her so well.<p>

Sasuke's gaze rested on the female in front of her. She was wearing a pink and white kimono that complimented her beautifully. Haruno Sakura was indeed good-looking, but he was never the type to only fall for looks. He would rather nothing happened from this meeting whatsoever, but he would admit that she was amusing to talk to.

Sakura had confidence and a strong way with words. Sasuke found it interesting to talk to the rosette; she was so different compared to all the other women he had met. They all seemed to be the same, always trying to woo him into marriage or just to play around. It was annoying and from the looks of it, the girl in front of him also found this whole ordeal a complete waste of time as well.

"Are you satisfied?" She asked him, her tone had a hint of sarcasm. Sasuke almost scoffed.

He walked towards Sakura and saw her watching him curiously. Sasuke walked straight passed her and opened the screen doors leading to the back garden. He could feel her gaze on his back.

"My parents seem to be very eager about this meeting and I have a feeling it is the same on your side as well. Shall we entertain them?" Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the girl. Tricking his parents that things went well would be good. Then, he would not need to see Haruno Sakura ever again and just the thought eased his soul.

He was expecting another insult or some crude remark but instead, Sakura dropped her fan to reveal a small but playful grin. "Ah, to entertain is to fool them, correct? If that is the case then I have no problem with it." Sakura moved to the doors and stepped down gracefully into the garden. Sasuke followed her silently.

They both had the same idea. Fool their parents, they shall.

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><p><strong>AN: the ending made sense grammatically yeah? Like is that comma supposed to be there? Ughhh OCD. Thanks for reading and all those reviews/faves/follows I got!**

**oh and there was quite some switching around wasn't there. okay, in case anyones confused... the first part in Sakura's point of view is a day before the meeting and the second part with the whole Sasuke's new kimono thing is also a day before. It then skips to the present day part which continues on from that scene in the prologue but in Sasuke's perspective.**

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><p><strong>REVIEWS ARE SEXY.<strong>

**LONGER REVIEWS ARE SEXIER.**

**DO IT FOR SASUKE.**


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